Feb. 22, 2008

Lady Catamounts vs. Georgia Southern Game Notes

Catamounts vs. The Citadel Game Notes

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina men's and women's basketball will hosts its final double-header of the season Saturday in the Ramsey Center. The Lady Catamounts take on Georgia Southern at 12:30 p.m. and the men will host The Citadel at 3 p.m. with both games being televised by Sport South. Western Carolina women's basketball will also be honoring its four seniors - Monique Dawson, Jessika Johnson, Chevon Keith and Ashley Pellom.

The action begins when the Lady Catamounts face off against Georgia Southern. Both clubs are vying for a more solid hold on second place in the Southern Conference race and are still looking at an outside shot at the regular season title. Western Carolina holds a half of a game lead on the Eagles, as the Lady Cats are 13-2 in Southern Conference games and GSU is 12-2.

Georgia Southern won the first meeting on January 26 64-62 in Statesboro. Western Carolina had to battle back from a poor first-half performance, scoring a season-low 13 points, before going on a 14-0 run to tie the game in the first five minutes of the second half.

The games between Western Carolina and Georgia Southern have been notoriously close - with the last three games being decided by a total of nine points. The two teams have split the home and home series the last two years.

Western Carolina is currently riding a seven-game winning streak - its longest streak of the season. The Lady Catamounts have also won seven consecutive games at home.

A pair of Lady Catamounts is looking to join senior Dawson in the 1,000-point club on Saturday. Fellow senior Keith needs just nine points to hit the mark while junior Lauren Powell needs 13.

With eight minutes left on the pre-game clock the Western Carolina women's basketball team will honor its four seniors - Dawson, Keith, Johnson and Pellom. Arguably the most successful group of seniors in Lady Catamount history - the foursome have won a Southern Conference Tournament Title, a Southern Conference Regular Season Title, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, helped the team win a school-record 24 games and also won 72 games.

Western Carolina men's basketball will host The Citadel after the women's game. The Catamounts lost in Charleston to the Bulldogs 57-51 on February 14.

The Catamounts are coming off a 74-62 loss to UNC Greensboro at home Thursday night. Jake Robinson led the team with 16 points.

Both Western Carolina and The Citadel enjoy shooting the long ball as the Bulldogs lead the SoCon with 9.58 made treys per game, while WCU is third with just over eight per contest. The Citadel also ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage. The Cadets won the first battle, making 10 3-pointers while WCU only managed three made treys.

Sophomore guard Brandon Giles extended his current double-digit scoring streak to 17 games with 10 points against UNC Greensboro on Thursday night. His current streak began after being held scoreless at Indiana - he has been in double-figures in 19 of his last 20 games - and 21 of the past 23 with one miss being by a single-point after tallying nine against UNC Asheville. Additionally, Giles has scored in double-figures in each SoCon game this season (16), eclipsing the 20-point plateau eight times. Giles currently ranks fourth in the SoCon in scoring (15.4 ppg) with his conference-only scoring average of 18.4 ppg ranking also ranking fourth.

Both clubs are looking to finish strong in the final week of the season. The Southern Conference Tournament begins March 6 in Charleston, S.C.